A brush fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon quickly burned dozens of acres, forced evacuations and shutdown both side of Interstate 8 near Campo, Cal Fire officials said.
The blaze, named the Thorn fire, broke out around 3:45 p.m. in heavy fuels with a moderate rate of spread near Buckthorn Trail and Old Highway 80, Cal Fire officials in a statement posted on X.
By 5:05 p.m., it had grown to 50 acres, and there was an immediate threat to structures in the area, firefighters said.
Evacuations were ordered for areas north of Old Highway 80, including the Live Oak Springs community, south and west of Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 14 and east of Tusil Road, according to Genasys online mapping. Warnings were issued for north of Hi Pass Road, south of Clements Street, east of Opalocka Road and west of Ribbonwood Road.
A temporary evacuation center was set up at the Golden Acorn Casino located at 1800 Golden Acorn Way, according to AlertSanDiego.
Officials were closing I-8 near the fire on Wednesday afternoon and rerouting traffic to state Route 94, according to an online California Highway Patrol log. The agency said the freeway at Crestwood was shut down as of 4:40 p.m. It was unclear when the freeway would be reopened, the CHP said.